Cited by 687Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyArchaeology and ancient environmental studiesArchaeological and Geological Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

On the earliest evidence for habitual use of fire in Europe

Open access

Roebroeks, Wil, Villa, Paola·2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI 10.1073/pnas.1018116108PMC PMC3069174

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The timing of the human control of fire is a hotly debated issue, with claims for regular fire use by early hominins in Africa at ∼1.6 million y ago. These claims are not uncontested, but most archaeologists would agree that the colonization of areas outside Africa, especially of regions such as Europe where temperatures at time dropped below freezing, was indeed tied to the use of fire. Our review of the European evidence suggests that early hominins moved into northern latitudes without the habitual use of fire. It was only much later, from ∼300,000 to 400,000 y ago onward, that fire became a significant part of the hominin technological repertoire. It is also from the second half of the Middle Pleistocene onward that we can observe spectacular cases of Neandertal pyrotechnological knowledge in the production of hafting materials. The increase in the number of sites with good evidence of fire throughout the Late Pleistocene shows that European Neandertals had fire management not unlike that documented for Upper Paleolithic groups.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1018116108

Cites

0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Human cannibalism in the Early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)
Ferna´ndez-Jalvo, Y., Carlos Dı´ez, J., Ca´ceres, I., & Rosell, J. (1999) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.1999.0324 · Cited by 210
Fire and its roles in early hominid lifeways
Clark, J. D., & Harris, J. W. K. (1985) · The African Archaeological Review · doi:10.1007/bf01117453 · Cited by 205

Show all 2 references

Research works printed but not linked: 75

10.1016/S0047-2484(03)00093-9 · DOI
10.1086/203705 · DOI
10.1038/294125a0 · DOI
CK Brain, Fifty years of fun with fossils. Breathing Life into Fossils: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain, eds TR Pickering, N Toth, K Schick (Stone Age Institute Press, Gosport, IN), pp. 1–24 (2004).
R Wrangham Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human (Basic Books, New York, 2009).
10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.02.011 · DOI
10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.03.003 · DOI
10.1016/S1095-6433(03)00020-5 · DOI
10.1038/nature09117 · DOI
10.1016/j.crpv.2005.10.008 · DOI
10.1006/jhev.2000.0435 · DOI · Paper page
10.1126/science.1175028 · DOI · Paper page
RL Kelly The Foraging Spectrum. Diversity in Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1995).
HJ Christian, et al., Global frequency and distribution of lightning as observed from space by the Optical Transient Detector. J Geophys Res 108, 1–15 (2003). · DOI
10.1016/j.jas.2005.11.011 · DOI
10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.04.002 · DOI
10.1006/jasc.2001.0742 · DOI
10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.07.001 · DOI
10.1016/j.quaint.2009.10.023 · DOI
10.1038/nature06815 · DOI
D Richter, Altersbestimmung der Fundschichten von Schöningen mit dosimetrischen Datierungsmethoden. Die Schöninger Speere—Mensch und Jagd vor 400,000 Jahren, eds H Thieme, R Maier (Konrad Theiss, Stuttgart), pp. 62–66 (2008).
S Schiegl, H Thieme Auf den Spuren von Feuer in Schöningen 13 II-4—Mensch und Jagd vor 400,000 Jahren, eds H Thieme, R Maier (Konrad Theiss, Stuttgart), pp. 167–171 (2008).
10.1002/jqs.1043 · DOI
JAJ Gowlett, J Hallos, S Hounsell, V Brant, NC Debenham, Beeches Pit: Archaeology, assemblage dynamics and early fire history of a Middle Pleistocene site in East Anglia, UK. J Eurasian Prehist 3, 3–38 (2005).
10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.09.007 · DOI
10.1080/01977261.1996.11754385 · DOI
, ed M Piperno (Osanna, Venosa Notarchirico: Un Sito del Pleistocene Medio Iniziale nel Bacino di Venosa, 1999).
, eds MB Roberts, SA Parfitt (English Heritage, London) Boxgrove: A Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 17 (1999).
VB Doronichev, The Lower Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus: A reappraisal of the data and new approaches. PaleoAnthropology 2008, 107–157 (2008).
10.1016/S0277-3791(02)00031-8 · DOI
10.1016/j.quaint.2010.02.023 · DOI
10.1006/jasc.1999.0541 · DOI
10.1016/j.crpv.2005.11.014 · DOI
A-M Moigne, R Barsky, Large mammal assemblages from Lower Palaeolithic sites in France: La Caune d’Arago, Terra Amata, Orgnac 3 and Cagny l’Epinette. The Role of Early Humans in the Accumulation of European Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Bone Assemblages, eds S Gaudzinski, E Turner (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz, Germany), pp. 219–235 (1999).
J Rodríguez, One million years of cultural evolution in a stable environment at Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). Quat Sci Rev, 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.021. (2010). · DOI
10.1016/S0003-5521(01)80005-4 · DOI
10.1006/jhev.1999.0346 · DOI
10.1016/j.quaint.2009.12.005 · DOI
P Callow, D Walton, CA Shell, The use of fire at La Cotte de St. Brelade. La Cotte de St. Brelade 1961–1978. Excavations by C.B.M. McBurney, eds P Callow, JM Cornford (Geo Books, Norwich, UK), pp. 193–195 (1986).
10.1016/j.jas.2006.01.006 · DOI
10.1179/eja.2001.4.3.385 · DOI
10.1073/pnas.0904369106 · DOI
I Théry-Parisot, L Meignen, Economie des combustibles (bois et lignite) dans l’abri Moustérien des Canalettes. Gallia Préhistoire 42, 45–55 (2000).
D Leesch Hauterive-Champréveyres 10. Un campement magdalénien au bord du lac de Neuchatel, cadre chronologique et culturel, mobilier et structures (secteur 1) (Service and Cantonal Museum of Archeology, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1997).
J Bullinger, D Leesch, N Plumettaz Le site magdalénien de Monruz. Premiers éléments pour l’analyse d’un habitat de plein air (Service and Cantonal Museum of Archeology, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 2006).
D Leesch, J Bullinger, M-I Cattin, W Müller, N Plumettaz, Hearths and hearth-related activities in Magdalenian open-air sites: The case studies of Champréveyres and Monruz (Switzerland) and their relevance to an understanding of Upper Paleolithic site structure. The Magdalenian in Central Europe. New Finds and Concepts, eds M Poltowicz-Bobak, D Bobak (Institute of Archaeology, Univ of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland), pp. 53–69 (2010).
10.1016/j.jas.2008.10.015 · DOI
10.1016/j.jas.2008.07.006 · DOI
D Henry, The palimpsest problem, hearth pattern analysis, and Middle Paleolithic site structure. Quaternary Int, 10.1016/j.quaint.2010.10.013. (2010). · DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0009157 · DOI
10.1006/jasc.1995.0048 · DOI
RM Albert, F Berna, P Goldberg, Insights on Neanderthal fire use at Kebara Cave (Israel) through high resolution study of prehistoric combustion features: Evidence from phytoliths and thin sections. Quaternary Int, 10.1016/j.quaint.2010.10.016. (2010). · DOI
10.1560/IJES.56.2-4.107 · DOI
10.1006/jhev.2001.0498 · DOI
10.1126/science.281.5374.251 · DOI
10.1126/science.283.5400.299a · DOI
N Alperson-Afil, D Richter, N Goren-Inbar, Phantom hearths and the use of fire at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel. PaleoAnthropology 2007, 1–15 (2007).
10.1126/science.1095443 · DOI · Paper page
, eds N Alperson-Afil, N Goren-Inbar (Springer, London The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Volume II. Ancient Flames and Controlled Use of Fire, 2010).
P Villa, A view from Western Europe. The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Volume II. Ancient Flames and Controlled Use of Fire, eds N Alperson-Afil, N Goren-Inbar (Springer, London), pp. IX–XIII (2010).
CC Andre, AR Skinner, HP Schwarcz, CK Brain, F Thackeray, Further exploration of the first use of fire. PaleoAnthropology 2010, A1–A2 (2010).
10.1126/science.284.5415.741c · DOI
10.1006/jhev.1994.1041 · DOI
E Carthaus, Spuren von möglicherweise menschlicher Tätigkeit in den Trinil-Schichten. Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java. Geologische und Paläontologische Ergebnisse der Trinil Expedition, eds L Selenka, M Blanckenhorn (Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany), pp. 231–234 (1911).
J Schuster, Die Flora der Trinil-Schichten. Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java. Geologische und Paläontologische Ergebnisse der Trinil Expedition, eds L Selenka, M Blanckenhorn (Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany), pp. 235–284 (1911).
10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.07.009 · DOI
10.1038/nature02829 · DOI
10.4207/PA.2009.ART31 · DOI
K Eidlitz Food and Emergency Food in the Circumpolar Area (Almqvist Wiksell, Uppsala, 1969).
10.1146/annurev-nutr-080508-141048 · DOI
10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.09.006 · DOI
R Dennell The Palaeolithic Settlement of Asia (Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, 2009).
10.1002/jqs.1044 · DOI
10.1073/pnas.1016868108 · DOI
10.1511/2008.69.3670 · DOI

Sorted by citations

Defining the Anthropocene
Lewis, S. L., & Maslin, M. A. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14258 · Cited by 3,441
The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth
Bowman, D. M. J. S., Balch, J., Artaxo, P., Bond, W. J., Cochrane, M. A., D’Antonio, C. M., DeFries, R., Johnston, F. H., Keeley, J. E., Krawchuk, M. A., et al. (2011) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02595.x · Cited by 1,230
“Our purpose here is to describe the historical development of humanity’s relationship with fire and the role humans play in the diversification of contemporary fire regimes globally, thus providing a framework for thinking about how humans influence fire regimes in space and time.”
Background
Implications
Skourdoumbis, A., & Rawolle, S. (1978) · SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science · doi:10.1177/002188637801400317 · Cited by 1,057
Global biodiversity change: The bad, the good, and the unknown
Pereira, H. M., Navarro, L. M., & Martins, I. S. (2012) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-042911-093511 · Cited by 777
“There have always been natural fires associated with lightning and volcanic activity, and therefore the co-occurrence in an archeological site of burning and artifacts does not necessarily imply a causal link between the two (22, 23).”
Background
Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa
Berna, F., Goldberg, P., Horwitz, L. K., Brink, J., Holt, S., Bamford, M., & Chazan, M. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1117620109 · Cited by 616
“Box indicates approximate location of thin section (B), exhibiting three microstratigraphic units (microfacies): (1) bottom sandy silt and clay mixed with ashed plant material, dispersed wood ash, and bone fragments; (2) clay aggregates and fragments; and (3) rounded aggregates of sandy silt.”
BackgroundInfluential
On the antiquity of language: the reinterpretation of Neandertal linguistic capacities and its consequences
Dediu, D., & Levinson, S. C. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00397 · Cited by 437
Evolution of human-driven fire regimes in Africa
Archibald, S., Staver, A. C., & Levin, S. A. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1118648109 · Cited by 376
“The probability of fire spread (λ) could only have been altered by people after they learned to ignite their own fires, were no longer dependent on lightning, and could have spread ignitions into the dry season when fuels are highly flammable; this probably started ∼200–400 kya in a range of different hominin groups (…”
Background
The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process
Gowlett, J. A. J. (2016) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0164 · Cited by 437
Rewilding: Science, Practice, and Politics
Lorimer, J., Sandom, C. J., Jepson, P. R., Doughty, C. E., Barua, M., & KIRBY, K. J. (2015) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-102014-021406 · Cited by 367
“Although, some argue for pushing this benchmark back further, as Homo has been using fire for several hundred thousand years, and this may have affected many ecosystems (61).”
Background
Body size downgrading of mammals over the late Quaternary
Smith, F. A., Smith, R. E. E., Lyons, S. K., & Payne, J. L. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aao5987 · Cited by 334
Early–Middle Pleistocene transitions: Linking terrestrial and marine realms
Head, M. J., & Gibbard, P. L. (2015) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.09.042 · Cited by 316
“Nevertheless, the control of fire appears not to have been acquired at this time, or at least used habitually, as firm evidence of anthropogenic fire in Europe does not appear until around MIS 11–9 (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011), such as at site 13-”
Background
Neandertal Demise: An Archaeological Analysis of the Modern Human Superiority Complex
Villa, P., & Roebroeks, W. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096424 · Cited by 285
“However, from 200,000 years ago onward, European Neandertals used fire to synthesize pitch from bark, through a process that involved distillation in the absence of oxygen and within a temperature interval of 340uC–400uC [108].”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France
Jaubert, J., Verheyden, S., Genty, D., Soulier, M., Cheng, H., Blamart, D., Burlet, C., Camus, H., Delaby, S., Deldicque, D., et al. (2016) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature18291 · Cited by 224
Energetic consequences of thermal and nonthermal food processing
Carmody, R. N., Weintraub, G. S., & Wrangham, R. W. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1112128108 · Cited by 224
The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution
Hardy, K., Brand-Miller, J. C., Brown, K. D., Thomas, M., & Copeland, L. (2015) · The Quarterly Review of Biology · doi:10.1086/682587 · Cited by 230
“However, secure evidence of the use of fire for cooking at these sites is still lacking, and it has been suggested that there is no secure evidence for the use of fire in Europe until 300,000–400,000 years ago (Roebroeks and Villa 2011).”
BackgroundInfluential
Down to Earth: Contextualizing the Anthropocene
Biermann, F., Bai, X., Bondre, N. R., Broadgate, W. J., Chen, C. A., Dube, B., Erisman, J. W., Glaser, M., van der Hel, S., Lemos, M. C., et al. (2015) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.004 · Cited by 331
“…and Cali, 1998; Carcaillet et al., 2007; Daniels et al., 2005; Genries et al., 2009; Gill et al., 2009; Marlon et al., 2006, 2008, 2009; Millspaugh et al., 2000; Nelson and Pierce, 2010; Pausas and Keeley, 2009; Power et al., 2008; Roebroeks and Villa, 2011; Rolland, 2004; Thevenon et al., 2004).”
Evidence for the repeated use of a central hearth at Middle Pleistocene (300 ky ago) Qesem Cave, Israel
Shahack-Gross, R., Berna, F., Karkanas, P., Lemorini, C., Gopher, A., & Barkai, R. (2014) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.11.015 · Cited by 189
Man the Fat Hunter: The Demise of Homo erectus and the Emergence of a New Hominin Lineage in the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 400 kyr) Levant
Ben‐Dor, M., Gopher, A., Hershkovitz, I., & Barkai, R. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028689 · Cited by 186
“However, with respect to early Homo, this is not a likely suggestion and while some have recently claimed that the habitual use of fire emerged only some 400 kyr ago [22,23,24,25,70] other very recent statements argued in favor of an even later adoption of fire [71].”
Background
'Fire at will': the emergence of habitual fire use 350,000 years ago.
Shimelmitz, R., Kuhn, S., Jelinek, A., Ronen, A., Clark, A. E., & Weinstein-Evron, M. (2014) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.07.005 · Cited by 169
The black layer of Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures. Interpretation and archaeostratigraphic implications
Mallol, C., Hernández, C. M., Cabanes, D., Sistiaga, A., Machado, J., Rodriguez, A., Pérez, L., & Galván, B. (2013) · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.09.017 · Cited by 163
“Archaeological combustion structures have been a central object of study within the research of every time period since the Eurasian Middle Palaeolithic and African Middle Stone Age, when fire started to be habitually used by humans (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011).”
Background
The future environmental and health impacts of coal
Finkelman, R., Wolfe, A. L., & Hendryx, M. (2020) · Energy Geoscience · doi:10.1016/j.engeos.2020.11.001 · Cited by 161
“Researchers posit that the habitual, human-controlled creation and use of fire began approximately 300,000e400,000 years ago by our hominin ancestors (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011; Gowlett, 2016).”
Background
Impacts of household coal and biomass combustion on indoor and ambient air quality in China: Current status and implication
Li, Q. X., Jiang, J., Wang, S., Rumchev, K. B., Mead‐Hunter, R., Morawska, L., & Hao, J. (2016) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.080 · Cited by 189
How heat alters underlying deposits and implications for archaeological fire features: A controlled experiment
Aldeias, V., Dibble, H., Sandgathe, D. M., Goldberg, P., & McPherron, S. (2016) · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.016 · Cited by 159
Early Evidence for Brilliant Ritualized Display: Specularite Use in the Northern Cape (South Africa) between ∼500 and ∼300 Ka
Watts, I., Chazan, M., & Wilkins, J. (2016) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/686484 · Cited by 157
“In Europe and the Near East, this occurs between ~400 and ~300 Ka (Chazan 2009; Roebroeks and Villa 2011; Shimelmitz et al. 2014; Stiner, Gopher, and Barkai 2011).”
Background
How old is the human footprint in the world's largest alpine ecosystem? A review of multiproxy records from the Tibetan Plateau from the ecologists' viewpoint
Miehe, G., Miehe, S., Böhner, J., Kaiser, K., Hensen, I., Madsen, D. B., Liu, J., & Opgenoorth, L. (2014) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.12.004 · Cited by 151
Language, gesture, skill: the co-evolutionary foundations of language
Sterelny, K. (2012) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0116 · Cited by 150
Earliest fire in Africa: towards the convergence of archaeological evidence and the cooking hypothesis
Gowlett, J. A. J., & Wrangham, R. W. (2013) · Azania Archaeological Research in Africa · doi:10.1080/0067270x.2012.756754 · Cited by 154
“We set out to make a new evaluation of the African record, just as Roebroeks and Villa (2011) have made a new survey of the European evidence.”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Pyrogeography and the Global Quest for Sustainable Fire Management
Bowman, D. M. J. S., O'Brien, J. A., & Goldammer, J. G. (2013) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-082212-134049 · Cited by 152
“The first reliable record of fire use by hominins has been dated at 1 Mya (42), and by 400 kya, fire appears to be routinely used by possibly all hominin populations (43, 44).”
Background
Neandertal mobility and large-game hunting: The exploitation of reindeer during the Quina Mousterian at Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (Charente-Maritime, France)
Niven, L., Steele, T. E., Rendu, W., Mallye, J., McPherron, S. P., Soressi, M., Jaubert, J., & Hublin, J. (2012) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.07.002 · Cited by 151
“In a broader context, evidence for the use of fire in Quina sites overall is rare (Sandgathe et al., 2011a), despite the fact that Neandertals were capable of using fire and did so frequently during the Mousterian (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011; Sandgathe et al., 2011b).”
Background
Fire and human evolution: The deep-time blueprints of the Anthropocene
Glikson, A. Y. (2013) · Anthropocene · doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2014.02.002 · Cited by 147
Conceptualizing power to study social-ecological interactions
Boonstra, W. J. (2016) · Ecology and Society · doi:10.5751/es-07966-210121 · Cited by 191
“With increased selfdomestication, or habituation, hominids’ control of fire became more enduring and stable (Roebroeks and Villa 2011).”
Background
Flexible Fungal Materials: Shaping the Future
Gandía, A., van den Brandhof, J. G., Appels, F. V. W., & Jones, M. P. (2021) · Trends in biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2021.03.002 · Cited by 160
An ethnoarchaeological study of cooking installations in rural Uzbekistan: development of a new method for identification of fuel sources
Gur-Arieh, S., Mintz, E., Boaretto, E., & Shahack-Gross, R. (2013) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.001 · Cited by 130
“400,000 years ago (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011).”
The Anthropocene Divide: Obscuring Understanding of Social-Environmental Change
Bauer, A. M., & Ellis, E. C. (2018) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/697198 · Cited by 127
Wooden tools and fire technology in the early Neanderthal site of Poggetti Vecchi (Italy)
Aranguren, B., Revedin, A., Amico, N., Cavulli, F., Giachi, G., Grimaldi, S., Macchioni, N., & Santaniello, F. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1716068115 · Cited by 139
“Its exploitation is attested to with certainty only since the dawn of Neanderthals at the Middle–Late Pleistocene boundary (35, 38, 40, 41).”
BackgroundMethod
Signaling Theory and Technologies of Communication in the Paleolithic
Kuhn, S. L. (2014) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-013-0156-5 · Cited by 125
Paleolithic Archaeology in China
Bar-Yosef, O., & Wang, Y.-P. (2012) · Annual Review of Anthropology · doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145832 · Cited by 119
“However, the habitual use of ﬁre since ∼ 0.5 Ma wouldnotbesurprisingbecauseitiswellknown from other Eurasian sites (Karkanas et al. 2007, Roebroeks & Villa 2011).”
BackgroundInfluential
Control of Fire in the Paleolithic
Wrangham, R. W. (2017) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/692113 · Cited by 159
“The implication is that populations of Homo occupied Europe during the Lower Paleolithic and later without the systematic control of fire, surviving on raw food for hundreds of thousands of years (Roebroeks and Villa 2011; Shimelmitz et al. 2014).”
Background
Excavations at Schöningen and paradigm shifts in human evolution
Conard, N. J., Serangeli, J., Böhner, U., Starkovich, B. M., Miller, C. E., Urban, B., & van Kolfschoten, T. (2015) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.003 · Cited by 145
Human Evolution and the Archaeology of the Social Brain
Gowlett, J., Gamble, C., & Dunbar, R. (2012) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/667994 · Cited by 95
Towards the Middle Palaeolithic in Western Europe: The case of Orgnac 3 (southeastern France)
Moncel, M., Moigne, A., & Combier, J. (2012) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.08.001 · Cited by 127
Neandertals revised
Roebroeks, W., & Soressi, M. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1521269113 · Cited by 126
Self-citation
The Year 2017: Megafires and Management in the Cerrado
Fidélis, A., Alvarado, S. T., Barradas, A. C. S., & Pivello, V. R. (2018) · Fire · doi:10.3390/fire1030049 · Cited by 142
The Early Acheulian of north-western Europe
Moncel, M., Ashton, N. M., Lamotte, A., Tuffreau, A., Cliquet, D., & Despriée, J. (2015) · Journal of Anthropological Archaeology · doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2015.09.005 · Cited by 139
Burning the Land: An Ethnographic Study of Off-Site Fire Use by Current and Historically Documented Foragers and Implications for the Interpretation of Past Fire Practices in the Landscape
Scherjon, F., Bakels, C., MacDonald, K., & Roebroeks, W. (2015) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/681561 · Cited by 107
Self-citation
Charred bone: Physical and chemical changes during laboratory simulated heating under reducing conditions and its relevance for the study of fire use in archaeology
Reidsma, F. H., van Hoesel, A., van Os, B., Megens, L., & Braadbaart, F. (2016) · doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.10.001 · Cited by 106
From features to fingerprints: A general diagnostic framework for anthropogenic geomorphology
Tarolli, P., Cao, W., Sofia, G., Evans, D., & Ellis, E. C. (2019) · Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment · doi:10.1177/0309133318825284 · Cited by 104
“transformation of geophysical environments (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011; Smith, 2007; Wrangham, 2009).”
Background
Experimental methods for the Palaeolithic dry distillation of birch bark: implications for the origin and development of Neandertal adhesive technology
Kozowyk, P. R. B., Soressi, M., Pomstra, D., & Langejans, G. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08106-7 · Cited by 104
Evidence for Neandertal use of fire at Roc de Marsal (France)
Aldeias, V., Goldberg, P., Sandgathe, D., Berna, F., Dibble, H., McPherron, S., Turq, A., & Režek, Ž. (2012) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.039 · Cited by 104
“It is clear that by the time of the Middle Paleolithic, evidence for controlled fire occurs more frequently than before (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011), though there is still much more to be learned about Neandertal use of fire, especially concerning its functions and the role it may have played in Mousterian adaptations…”
Untitled work
(2011) · doi:10.4207/pa.2011.art54 · Cited by 10
Holocene fire activity during low-natural flammability periods reveals scale-dependent cultural human-fire relationships in Europe
Dietze, E., Theuerkauf, M., Bloom, K., Brauer, A., Dörfler, W., Feeser, I., Feurdean, A., Gedminienė, L., Giesecke, T., Jahns, S., et al. (2018) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.005 · Cited by 134
On the evidence for human use and control of fire at Schöningen
Stahlschmidt, M., Miller, C. E., Ligouis, B., Hambach, U., Goldberg, P. S., Berna, F., Richter, D., Urban, B., Serangeli, J., & Conard, N. J. (2015) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.04.004 · Cited by 104
Names for trace fossils 2.0: theory and practice in ichnotaxonomy
Bertling, M., Buatois, L. A., Knaust, D., Laing, B. A., Mángano, M. G., Meyer, N., Mikuláš, R., Minter, N. J., Neumann, C. H., Rindsberg, A. K., et al. (2022) · Lethaia · doi:10.18261/let.55.3.3 · Cited by 119
New Middle Pleistocene hominin cranium from Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal)
Daura, J., Sanz, M., Arsuaga, J. L., Hoffmann, D. L., Quam, R., Ortega, M. C., Santos, E., Gómez, S., Salvador, Á. R., Villaescusa, L., et al. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1619040114 · Cited by 113
“This same time period also documents two major technological innovations: the expansion of the Acheulean tradition (42) and the first evidence for widespread, systematic controlled use of fire (43).”
Background
Island biodiversity conservation needs palaeoecology
Nogué, S., de Nascimento, L., Froyd, C. A., Wilmshurst, J. M., de Boer, E. J., Coffey, E. E. D., Whittaker, R. J., Fernández‐Palacios, J. M., & Willis, K. J. (2017) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0181 · Cited by 141
Fire for a Reason
Barkai, R., Rosell, J., Blasco, R., & Gopher, A. (2017) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/691211 · Cited by 96
From Atapuerca to Europe: Tracing the earliest peopling of Europe
Mosquera, M., Ollé, A., & Álvarez, X. P. R. (2012) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.01.031 · Cited by 101
Discontinuity in the record for hominin occupation in south-western Europe: Implications for occupation of the middle latitudes of Europe
MacDonald, K., Martinón‐Torres, M., Dennell, R., & de Castro, J. M. B. (2011) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.10.009 · Cited by 99
The oldest handaxes in Europe: fact or artefact?
Arenas, J. M. J., Santonja, M., López, M. C. B., & Palmqvist, P. (2011) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.07.020 · Cited by 96
“Therefore, if the chronology suggested by Scott and Gibert (2009) for SZ is correct, this would imply that the oldest evidence of intentional use of fire in Europe has an age of >750 kyr, which is in disagreement with the chronologies currently accepted (see review in Roebroeks and Villa, 2011).”
Background
Early Levallois core technology between Marine Isotope Stage 12 and 9 in Western Europe
Moncel, M., Ashton, N., Arzarello, M., Fontana, F., Lamotte, A., Scott, B., Muttillo, B., Berruti, G. L. F., Nenzioni, G., Tuffreau, A., et al. (2020) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102735 · Cited by 105
An Unshakable Middle Paleolithic?
Stiner, M. C. (2013) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/673285 · Cited by 104
“…2010; Gowlett et al. 2005; Karkanas et al. 2007; Preece et al. 2006), but the record of fire becomes ubiquitous with the beginning of the MP (e.g., Albert, Berna, and Goldberg 2012; Fernández Peris et al. 2012; Goldberg et al. 2012; Roebroeks and Villa 2011; Rolland 2004; Vallverdú et al. 2012).”
Background
The environmental contexts of early human occupation of northwest Europe: The British Lower Palaeolithic record
Ashton, N. M., & Lewis, S. G. (2011) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.10.022 · Cited by 88
Are we missing the “sweet spot” between optimality theory and niche construction theory in archaeology?
Stiner, M. C., & Kuhn, S. L. (2016) · Journal of Anthropological Archaeology · doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2016.07.006 · Cited by 109
On Variability and Complexity
Hovers, E., & Belfer‐Cohen, A. (2013) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/673880 · Cited by 98
Experimental Approaches to Archaeological Fire Features and Their Behavioral Relevance
Aldeias, V. (2017) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/691210 · Cited by 88
“Roebroeks and Villa (2011) suggest that early European hominins did not “habitually” use fire before 400 kya, whereas clear evidence for pyrotechnology exists in later Neanderthal contexts.”
Background
Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals
Heyes, P., Anastasakis, K., de Jong, W., van Hoesel, A., Roebroeks, W., & Soressi, M. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep22159 · Cited by 87
Self-citation
Brain Evolution, the Determinates of Food Choice, and the Omnivore's Dilemma
Armelagos, G. J. (2014) · Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition · doi:10.1080/10408398.2011.635817 · Cited by 102
“The early hominins movement into northern latitudes of Europe necessitated the control of fire (Roebroeks and Villa, 2011).”
Timing of the appearance of habitual fire use
Sandgathe, D. M., Dibble, H., Goldberg, P., McPherron, S., Turq, A., Niven, L., & Hodgkins, J. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.1106759108 · Cited by 87
The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., Williams, M., & Fairchild, I. J. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108621359 · Cited by 349
The earliest occupation of north-west Europe: a coastal perspective
Cohen, K. M., MacDonald, K., Joordens, J. C. A., Roebroeks, W., & Gibbard, P. L. (2011) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.11.003 · Cited by 84
Self-citation
Middle Pleistocene fire use: The first signal of widespread cultural diffusion in human evolution
MacDonald, K., Scherjon, F., van Veen, E., Vaesen, K., & Roebroeks, W. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2101108118 · Cited by 110
Self-citation
Culture: The Driving Force of Human Cognition
Colagè, I., & d’Errico, F. (2018) · Topics in Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/tops.12372 · Cited by 114
Insights into the timing, intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal occupation from the geoarchaeological study of combustion structures: A micromorphological and biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb, Alcoy, Spain
Leierer, L., Jambrina‐Enríquez, M., Herrera-Herrera, A., Connolly, R., Hernández, C. M., Galván, B., & Mallol, C. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214955 · Cited by 80
Recognizing Fire in the Paleolithic Archaeological Record
Goldberg, P. S., Miller, C. E., & Mentzer, S. M. (2017) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/692729 · Cited by 93
“Berna et al. (2012) point out that without a clear combustion feature, it is difficult to demonstrate hominin control of fire (Roebroeks and Villa 2011).”
Background
Morphology, body proportions, and postcranial hypertrophy of a female Neandertal from the Sima de las Palomas, southeastern Spain
Walker, M. J., Ortega, J., Parmová, K., López, M. V., & Trinkaus, E. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.1107318108 · Cited by 80
“Given the presence of sophisticated pyrotechnology among the Neandertals (46), including in Iberia (47), and the probable presence of clothing among them (48), the PalomasNeandertals were unlikely to have experienced the level of thermal stress commonly associated with the Neandertals.”
Background
What happens around a fire: Faunal processing sequences and spatial distribution at Qesem Cave (300 ka), Israel
Blasco, R., Rosell, J., Sañudo, P., Gopher, A., & Barkai, R. (2015) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.04.031 · Cited by 78
Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Middle Pleistocene Levant: A View from Qesem Cave, Israel
Barkai, R., & Gopher, A. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54511-8_7 · Cited by 77
A review of infrared spectroscopy in microarchaeology: Methods, applications, and recent trends
Monnier, G. (2018) · Journal of Archaeological Science Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.12.029 · Cited by 81
Researching the Nature of Fire at 1.5 Mya on the Site of FxJj20 AB, Koobi Fora, Kenya, Using High-Resolution Spatial Analysis and FTIR Spectrometry
Hlubik, S., Berna, F., Feibel, C. S., Braun, D. R., & Harris, J. W. K. (2017) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/692530 · Cited by 112
“Middle Paleolithic behavioral organization: 1993 excavation of Tor Faraj, southern Jordan.”
BackgroundInfluential
Large Scale Anthropogenic Reduction of Forest Cover in Last Glacial Maximum Europe
Kaplan, J. O., Pfeiffer, M., Kolen, J. C. A., & Davis, B. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166726 · Cited by 84
“Fire was a significant part of hominin technology for at least the last 300 ka [14], and, based on historical analogues, we hypothesize that hunter-gatherers at the LGM had mastered the use of fire as a tool for landscape management, for improving hunting and foraging opportunities, and easing visibility and travel [1…”
Background
The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene
Ben‐Dor, M., Sirtoli, R., & Barkai, R. (2021) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.24247 · Cited by 104
“…the reduction in mastication since most researchers date the habitual and controlled use of fire to over a million years after the appearance of H. erectus (Barkai et al., 2017; Gowlett, 2016; Roebroeks & Villa, 2011; Shahack-Gross et al., 2014; Shimelmitz et al., 2014); but see R. Wrangham (2017).”
Background
What the past can say about the present and future of fire
Marlon, J. R. (2020) · Quaternary Research · doi:10.1017/qua.2020.48 · Cited by 83
“Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominins moved into northern latitudes from Africa without the habitual use of fire, and that it was only after ∼300,000 to 400,000 years ago that fire became a significant part of the hominin technological repertoire (Karkanas, 2007; Roebroeks and Villa, 2011).”
Background
Neandertal fire-making technology inferred from microwear analysis
Sorensen, A., Claud, É., & Soressi, M. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28342-9 · Cited by 73
The false dichotomy: a refutation of the Neandertal indistinguishability claim.
Wynn, T., Overmann, K. A., & Coolidge, F. L. (2016) · PubMed · doi:10.4436/jass.94022 · Cited by 93
San Bernardino Cave (Italy) and the Appearance of Levallois Technology in Europe: Results of a Radiometric and Technological Reassessment
Picin, A., Peresani, M., Falguères, C., Gruppioni, G., & Bahain, J. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076182 · Cited by 72
“of fire [21], the manipulation of pigments [22], the mastery of”
Background
Nucleation of aragonite upon carbonation of calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide at ambient temperatures and pressures: a new indicator of fire-related human activities
Toffolo, M. B., & Boaretto, E. (2014) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.05.020 · Cited by 80
Hominin fire use in the Okote member at Koobi Fora, Kenya: New evidence for the old debate
Hlubik, S., Cutts, R. B., Braun, D. R., Berna, F., Feibel, C. S., & Harris, J. W. K. (2019) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.01.010 · Cited by 95
Lithic Landscapes: Early Human Impact from Stone Tool Production on the Central Saharan Environment
Foley, R., & Lahr, M. M. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116482 · Cited by 77
“and control of fire [5,6] and over-exploitation of large mammals leading to their extinction [7].”
Background
The Acheulian and Early Middle Paleolithic in Latium (Italy): Stability and Innovation
Villa, P., Soriano, S., Grün, R., Marra, F., Nomade, S., Pereira, A., Boschian, G., Pollarolo, L., Fang, F., & Bahain, J. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0160516 · Cited by 69
Self-citation
Trajectories of cultural innovation from the Middle to Later Stone Age in Eastern Africa: Personal ornaments, bone artifacts, and ocher from Panga ya Saidi, Kenya
d’Errico, F., Martí, À. P., Shipton, C., Vraux, E. L., Ndiema, E., Goldstein, S. T., Petraglia, M. D., & Boivin, N. L. (2020) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102737 · Cited by 85
Neanderthals, trees and dental calculus: new evidence from El Sidrón
Radini, A., Buckley, S., Rosas, A., Estalrrich, A., Vives, M. D. L. R., & Hardy, K. (2016) · Antiquity · doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.21 · Cited by 65
“Most conifer trees have several parts that are edible, including the needles, nuts and C© Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016 charcoal remains from hearths, and there is extensive evidence for this across a broad area (e.g. Roebroeks & Villa 2011; Albert et al. 2012; Aldeias et al. 2012).”
Background
The Early and early Middle Pleistocene context of human occupation and lowland glaciation in Britain and northern Europe
Preece, R. C., & Parfitt, S. (2012) · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.04.018 · Cited by 67
Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes
Roos, C. I., Bowman, D. M. J. S., Balch, J. K., Artaxo, P., Bond, W. J., Cochrane, M., D'Antonio, C. M., DeFries, R., Mack, M., Johnston, F. H., et al. (2014) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/jbi.12285 · Cited by 66
“Despite recent evidence that hominin use of fire stretches back more than 1 million years (Berna et al., 2012) and that fire became a regular technology for many (if not all) hominin populations between 400 and 300 ka (Roebroeks & Villa, 2011) the polemic continues.”
Background
Neanderthal activity and resting areas from stratigraphic unit 13 at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Oscurusciuto (Ginosa - Taranto, Southern Italy)
Spagnolo, V., Marciani, G., Aureli, D., Berna, F., Toniello, G., Astudillo, F., Boschin, F., Boscato, P., & Ronchitelli, A. (2019) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.06.024 · Cited by 66
Fire production in the deep past? The expedient strike-a-light model
Sorensen, A. C., Roebroeks, W., & van Gijn, A. (2013) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.11.032 · Cited by 63
Self-citation
Human Life History Evolution Explains Dissociation between the Timing of Tooth Eruption and Peak Rates of Root Growth
Dean, C., & Cole, T. J. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054534 · Cited by 73
“4 Mya) when the controlled use of fire for cooking became widespread and well established in Europe [113].”
BackgroundInfluential
Perspective on the human cough reflex
Brooks, S. M. (2011) · Cough · doi:10.1186/1745-9974-7-10 · Cited by 67
“The earliest community sites for the ancient Homo species, possibly beginning 400,000 years, are supposedly within caves requiring fire for warmth and for cooking of food [128].”
Background
The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age
Dapschauskas, R., Göden, M. B., Sommer, C., & Kandel, A. W. (2022) · Journal of World Prehistory · doi:10.1007/s10963-022-09170-2 · Cited by 78
“The term habitual often appears in the archaeological literature, for example, in association with the evolution of fire use by hominins (Roebroeks & Villa, 2011; Sandgathe, 2017; Shahack-Gross et al., 2014; Shimelmitz et al., 2014).”
Background
Walking in a Winter Wonderland? Strategies for Early and Middle Pleistocene Survival in Midlatitude Europe
Hosfield, R. (2016) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/688579 · Cited by 83
“…were able to buffer those adverse effects somewhat more successfully than their predecessors (as reflected in the richer lithic records and in behavioral innovations such as fire and shelter; e.g., Mania and Mania 2005; Roebroeks and van Kolfschoten 1995; Roebroeks and Villa 2011; Wymer 1999).”
BackgroundInfluential
Zoon Politikon
Gintis, H. M., van Schaik, C. P., & Boehm, C. (2015) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/681217 · Cited by 139

Authors: Roebroeks, W., & Villa, P.
Affiliations: Leiden University (NL)
University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
ORCID: Roebroeks, Wil
Villa, Paola
Venue: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Published: 2011-03-14
Volume: 108
Issue: 13
Pages: 5209-5214
ISSN: 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
1091-6490
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1018116108
PMC: PMC3069174
OpenAlex: W2165291892
Cited by: 687
References: 80
Citations by year: 2026: 19 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 62 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 76 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 24
FWCI: 144.72
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Locations: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Archaeological and Geological Studies
Keywords: fire use, Neanderthals, Middle Pleistocene, Late Pleistocene, fire management, hafting, Upper Palaeolithic, northern latitudes, European prehistory
MeSH terms: Animals, Emigration and Immigration, Europe, Biological Evolution, Fires, Fossils, Humans, Technology, Hominidae

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

On the earliest evidence for habitual use of fire in Europe

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Metadata

Record

About these checks